Category: This month in 1937

1937, still moving into a new home, an alumni game which steals her voice, a bad case of laryngitis, a trolley ride with Ray Balut and Jackie Stefanik, Benny is going to the Rose Bowl, supposedly, finally a cozy home and steam heat, shopping for bedroom slippers, white sweaters, sport coats on sale, and portraits,…

Guess what?!?! Babu’s parents find out that the rent in their new place will be raised and they move, again. Why is that so exciting? Because they move in here. So I know that this move is the last move her parents will make in their very long lives. It’s not the last move Babu…

Things begin to change for Babu midway through this month. The dark cloud over her head mostly dissipates. Instead of statements about eating lunch alone, she writes about staying out late five nights in a row and things like this: Feel like a stranger in my own home since I’ve been out so much lately….

And just like that it’s autumn again. Babu writes: The leaves are just beginning to turn and the world is so alive and radiant. This is the swan song of fall. The month begins with her wish to be back at school. She goes to visit BPI and misses what must seem to her like…

Her life has shifted. There was a rite of passage, clear as day. She is no longer a child. Not in habits, not in routine, or responsibilities. She is still pinning for Benny: On the way home thought I saw Benny. I wonder? Oh, will I ever get over him. When I’m alone I think…

There is much to celebrate in the heat of July. Babu says that she will “melt like a piece of wax one of these days,” yet things move along swimmingly. (Kind of.) All About Benny: The month begins with the sentence: I guess I needn’t have worried about Benny. She didn’t know if he would…

I am reading and typing along and suddenly it makes sense why she is doing things like playing tennis and sunbathing. It’s June! I had lost all track of time. As I go through the month I keep wondering if she is approaching graduation. Classes continue into July so before the end of this month…

I’m going to get this disappointment out of the way because I know it’s been on my mind. I’m sure it’s been on yours, too. Hasn’t it? On May 6th, 1937, the Hindenburg explodes. Here was Babu’s journal entry on that day: Thursday, May 6th, 1937 Thank you for a lovely evening! It was lovely. …

April saw the resolution of one conflict but another one, this time at home, reared an ugly head. There was always tension between Babu and her parents and the landlady. Here’s an example from December, 1936: Johnny Olbryck’s mother is a meany. She won’t let us have steam heat. Says she needs an even temperature…

Babu turns 19!! Mother and Dad gave me a dainty pair of white kid gloves, some material for a dress, and a dozen narcissus for my birthday tomorrow. But before her birthday, she gets pretty ill. From the description I wonder if it were worse then she even knew. It then passes around her house…

No airships, no natural disasters, no new presidents elected. Just February, 1937. The month begins with Babu’s date with Richard R. I still do not know where this boy came from, but her date seemed nice. Ice skating – which was kind of a fail. And they got to the movies, late, but saw a…

The beginning of the new year did not disappoint. They drove around blowing horns and her friend Harland climbs out of the car and dances on the running board. Celebration and jubilation! After that bit of fun, January seems to be a month of many boys. There are quite a few interested in her, and…